Daughter joins mom to help lead Pat's School of Dance

Published: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 at 6:28 p.m.

Pat Shepherd can remember when her daughter, Sheraton, would dance on the coffee table in their living room. Sheraton's audience would be her dad, John, and she'd wear out the coffee table showing him the dance moves she'd learned.

“That was her stage,” the owner of Pat's School of Dance said.

Sheraton Shepherd, 27, has a new “stage” now, right alongside her mom at the Hendersonville dance school. After several years of dancing in New York and abroad, Sheraton Shepherd came home. In June of 2011, the younger Shepherd became a part owner of Pat's School of Dance, a community fixture for the last 42 years.

Dancing is life

Sheraton Shepherd began taking dance classes when she was 2, but Pat Shepherd contends that her daughter's dancing truly began at age zero.

Pat Shepherd started her dance school in 1971. As a junior in high school, she began teaching class in her parents' basement. The elder Shepherd has spent the last 40-plus years teaching girls and boys the art of dance.

Sheraton has been one of her best students, Pat Shepherd said, and she has pushed her daughter to go after her dreams.

“She's been the greatest influence in my life,” Sheraton Shepherd said. “She always pushed me to be the best I could be.”

When she graduated from Hendersonville High in 2003, dancing was the objective. Shepherd got a scholarship and spent a year learning dance at Virginia Intermont College.

While there, however, she received an invitation to dance for First Floor Company in Germany in 2004. She began taking online courses through Blue Ridge Community College while dancing professionally in Germany.

That was just the beginning for Sheraton Shepherd. In 2005, she danced in New York and Tokyo. In Tokyo, she danced female lead in “Tap Happy Two” for Tokyo Disney Sea and “Cape Cod Jamboree Nights” for Tokyo Disney Resort. She followed that up with a stint with Universal Studios in Orlando Florida.

In 2007, she decided to return home and teach full-time.

Sheraton Shepherd spent the next two years teaching for her mother's studio full-time and traveling on weekends. She'd spend those weekends teaching master classes at conventions and doing guest choreography.

“It's just fun to see the kids accomplish and how much they grow in a year,” she said.

Teaching is about giving back to students, while performing is all about self, she said, which is why teaching is what she enjoys most.

In 2009, Sheraton Shepherd took a break from teaching in Hendersonville and traveled to Shanghai, China. She was one of the first foreign dancers to enter the country to teach. She taught tap to Chinese kids, who were obsessed with tapping to the musical “42nd Street,” she said.

Since that trip, Sheraton Shepherd has been in the Hendersonville studio full-time, and traveling on weekends.

The studio puts out a strong product year in and year out. Pat's School of Dance has won the Titanium and President's Cups from Dance Educators of America for nine consecutive years.

The close-knit, family atmosphere plays into that, Pat Shepherd said. All the teachers at the school are either family, or like family, because they've taken dance there since they were small, she added.

Family, teaching, dancing are life

John Shepherd has watched his wife and daughter bond artistically and loves what he sees.

“I think it's real special to do what you love to do,” he said. “It's even more special with a family member.”

The proud father also remembers watching his daughter wear out the table in their living room.

“She's gone from dancing on a coffee table at home to dancing on a stage,” he said. “It's great that she's taken her career to that level.”

Students at Pat's are getting a taste of that skill twice over as the mother-daughter duo invests in the lives of little tappers, jazz dancers and any other kind of dancing you can think of. Before every class, the two talk out their good cop–bad cop routine. Who's going to be the tough teacher that day?

More important for the students is the blend of new and old ideas that results in a fresh approach, helping to take the dance company to the highest levels.

“Mom and I are really great together,” Sheraton Shepherd said. “We just work great together. It's just a wonderful blend here.”

<p>Pat Shepherd can remember when her daughter, Sheraton, would dance on the coffee table in their living room. Sheraton's audience would be her dad, John, and she'd wear out the coffee table showing him the dance moves she'd learned.</p><p>“That was her stage,” the owner of Pat's School of Dance said.</p><p>Sheraton Shepherd, 27, has a new “stage” now, right alongside her mom at the Hendersonville dance school. After several years of dancing in New York and abroad, Sheraton Shepherd came home. In June of 2011, the younger Shepherd became a part owner of Pat's School of Dance, a community fixture for the last 42 years. </p><p><b>Dancing is life</b></p><p>Sheraton Shepherd began taking dance classes when she was 2, but Pat Shepherd contends that her daughter's dancing truly began at age zero.</p><p>Pat Shepherd started her dance school in 1971. As a junior in high school, she began teaching class in her parents' basement. The elder Shepherd has spent the last 40-plus years teaching girls and boys the art of dance.</p><p>Sheraton has been one of her best students, Pat Shepherd said, and she has pushed her daughter to go after her dreams. </p><p>“She's been the greatest influence in my life,” Sheraton Shepherd said. “She always pushed me to be the best I could be.”</p><p>When she graduated from Hendersonville High in 2003, dancing was the objective. Shepherd got a scholarship and spent a year learning dance at Virginia Intermont College. </p><p>While there, however, she received an invitation to dance for First Floor Company in Germany in 2004. She began taking online courses through Blue Ridge Community College while dancing professionally in Germany. </p><p>That was just the beginning for Sheraton Shepherd. In 2005, she danced in New York and Tokyo. In Tokyo, she danced female lead in “Tap Happy Two” for Tokyo Disney Sea and “Cape Cod Jamboree Nights” for Tokyo Disney Resort. She followed that up with a stint with Universal Studios in Orlando Florida. </p><p>In 2007, she decided to return home and teach full-time.</p><p><b.Teaching is life</b.</p><p>Sheraton Shepherd spent the next two years teaching for her mother's studio full-time and traveling on weekends. She'd spend those weekends teaching master classes at conventions and doing guest choreography.</p><p>“It's just fun to see the kids accomplish and how much they grow in a year,” she said.</p><p>Teaching is about giving back to students, while performing is all about self, she said, which is why teaching is what she enjoys most.</p><p>In 2009, Sheraton Shepherd took a break from teaching in Hendersonville and traveled to Shanghai, China. She was one of the first foreign dancers to enter the country to teach. She taught tap to Chinese kids, who were obsessed with tapping to the musical “42nd Street,” she said.</p><p>Since that trip, Sheraton Shepherd has been in the Hendersonville studio full-time, and traveling on weekends. </p><p>The studio puts out a strong product year in and year out. Pat's School of Dance has won the Titanium and President's Cups from Dance Educators of America for nine consecutive years.</p><p>The close-knit, family atmosphere plays into that, Pat Shepherd said. All the teachers at the school are either family, or like family, because they've taken dance there since they were small, she added.</p><p><b>Family, teaching, dancing are life</b></p><p>John Shepherd has watched his wife and daughter bond artistically and loves what he sees. </p><p>“I think it's real special to do what you love to do,” he said. “It's even more special with a family member.”</p><p>The proud father also remembers watching his daughter wear out the table in their living room. </p><p>“She's gone from dancing on a coffee table at home to dancing on a stage,” he said. “It's great that she's taken her career to that level.”</p><p>Students at Pat's are getting a taste of that skill twice over as the mother-daughter duo invests in the lives of little tappers, jazz dancers and any other kind of dancing you can think of. Before every class, the two talk out their good cop–bad cop routine. Who's going to be the tough teacher that day?</p><p>More important for the students is the blend of new and old ideas that results in a fresh approach, helping to take the dance company to the highest levels.</p><p>“Mom and I are really great together,” Sheraton Shepherd said. “We just work great together. It's just a wonderful blend here.”</p><p>“I don't know how to put that into words,” Pat Shepherd said. “It's a mother's dream come true.”</p><p>For Sheraton Shepherd, home is always where her heart was.</p><p>“I always knew I wanted to do this,” she said. “Even when I was performing, I was here.”</p><p>Reach Millwood at 828-694-7881 or at joey.millwood@blueridgenow.com.</p>